El Pais Digital (Uruguay): A Lifetime Bringing Technology to the Classroom
A Lifetime Bringing Technology to the Classroom
by Eloísa Capurro
01/04/08 Original article (in Spanish): http://www.elpais.com.uy/08/01/04/infepd_322652.asp
As a little girl, Barbara Kurshan dreamed of one day becoming an astronaut or a doctor. Time has helped her define her goal and at the end it was neither one of these options. Her destiny lay with education and for 11 years she worked as a teacher until one day the idea of joining technology with education took hold of her. “Growing up, I knew that I wanted to work with children and computers in one way or another,” recalls Kurshan. “But that was a radical idea at the time, particularly for women.” In fact, one of her professors once told her that it would be impossible to use computers in education. “I would like to find him today and describe the work that I've engaged in during the last 30 years of my life,” said this woman who has balanced a successful professional career with the demanding job of being a mother. “I have two great children. Balancing work with family can be quite challenging, keeping in mind that the roles of being a female professional and mother are both highly demanding. But I have always had a support network that enables me to find professional success without sacrificing time with my children.” Her career began with the development of Microsoft's first software products targeted at children. One of these products was the “Creative Writer and Fine Artist” software created in the 1990s to enable young children to create pictures and stories in the fictitious city of Imaginopolis. Kurshan won several awards for her work done with companies including McGraw-Hill, Apple and CCC (Pearson), and has also published numerous articles and books related to education and technology. “I am less interested in computers than I am in the technologies that can be used to solve problems,” said Kurshan. For her, educational technology refers to the integration of interactive technology within teaching. “My passion lies in the creative fusion of technology with content to improve the learning process,” she said. Currently she serves as the Executive Director of Curriki, a web site that aims to be the Wikipedia of education. The site has a more than ambitious objective – bridge the digital divide. “I see Curriki merging the digital paths for those who want to teach and those who want to learn. There are educators throughout the world with deep knowledge and fantastic curricular resources that they have created. There are also millions of educators and learners with no access to any quality educational materials. Together we can bridge the unacceptable divide that exists in education around the world. Sharing freely in a community is the right path to take. When it comes to describing her job, Kurshan does not use words like “hard” or “tiring”. “My work is fun and engaging -- I am constantly involved in new and passionate activities,” confesses this woman who pictures her retirement as a time to teach computing to children on a small island that still does not have access to technology. Although she does not like to set objectives due to the “limiting” nature of these prescribed goals, she knows exactly what she wants Curriki to accomplish. “I want it to be “the” place to develop and distribute curriculum throughout the world. It is a drastic idea and a fundamental shift in how educational resources are currently shared. I believe it has the potential of being the next YouTube or MySpace,” she states optimistically. Having 35,000 members of Curriki worldwide seems to encourage her. “My lifelong goal is to have an impact on education at a global level. Curriki is enabling me to accomplish this.”
01/04/08 Original article (in Spanish): http://www.elpais.com.uy/08/01/04/infepd_322652.asp
As a little girl, Barbara Kurshan dreamed of one day becoming an astronaut or a doctor. Time has helped her define her goal and at the end it was neither one of these options. Her destiny lay with education and for 11 years she worked as a teacher until one day the idea of joining technology with education took hold of her. “Growing up, I knew that I wanted to work with children and computers in one way or another,” recalls Kurshan. “But that was a radical idea at the time, particularly for women.” In fact, one of her professors once told her that it would be impossible to use computers in education. “I would like to find him today and describe the work that I've engaged in during the last 30 years of my life,” said this woman who has balanced a successful professional career with the demanding job of being a mother. “I have two great children. Balancing work with family can be quite challenging, keeping in mind that the roles of being a female professional and mother are both highly demanding. But I have always had a support network that enables me to find professional success without sacrificing time with my children.” Her career began with the development of Microsoft's first software products targeted at children. One of these products was the “Creative Writer and Fine Artist” software created in the 1990s to enable young children to create pictures and stories in the fictitious city of Imaginopolis. Kurshan won several awards for her work done with companies including McGraw-Hill, Apple and CCC (Pearson), and has also published numerous articles and books related to education and technology. “I am less interested in computers than I am in the technologies that can be used to solve problems,” said Kurshan. For her, educational technology refers to the integration of interactive technology within teaching. “My passion lies in the creative fusion of technology with content to improve the learning process,” she said. Currently she serves as the Executive Director of Curriki, a web site that aims to be the Wikipedia of education. The site has a more than ambitious objective – bridge the digital divide. “I see Curriki merging the digital paths for those who want to teach and those who want to learn. There are educators throughout the world with deep knowledge and fantastic curricular resources that they have created. There are also millions of educators and learners with no access to any quality educational materials. Together we can bridge the unacceptable divide that exists in education around the world. Sharing freely in a community is the right path to take. When it comes to describing her job, Kurshan does not use words like “hard” or “tiring”. “My work is fun and engaging -- I am constantly involved in new and passionate activities,” confesses this woman who pictures her retirement as a time to teach computing to children on a small island that still does not have access to technology. Although she does not like to set objectives due to the “limiting” nature of these prescribed goals, she knows exactly what she wants Curriki to accomplish. “I want it to be “the” place to develop and distribute curriculum throughout the world. It is a drastic idea and a fundamental shift in how educational resources are currently shared. I believe it has the potential of being the next YouTube or MySpace,” she states optimistically. Having 35,000 members of Curriki worldwide seems to encourage her. “My lifelong goal is to have an impact on education at a global level. Curriki is enabling me to accomplish this.”
